Means for locating and raising sunken vessels.



No. 814,517. PATENTED MAR. 6, 1906. W. G. CAIN.

MEANS FOR LOGATING AND RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS. APPLICATION FILED JULY31, 1905.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM G. (JAIN, OF VICTORIA, LOUISIANA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 6, 1906.

Application filed July 31, 1905. Serial No- 271,971.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. CAIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Victoria, Natchitoches parish, Louisiana, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Means for Locating and RaisingSunken Vessels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in WhichFigure 1 is a perspective view of a vessel equipped with a deviceconstructed in accordance with my invention; and Fig. 2 is a view ofavessel, partlyin elevation and partly in section, showing my inventionapplied.

This invention relates to means for locating and raising sunken vessels;and one of the objects is to provide means whereby the marking of thelocation of a sunken vessel so that the vessel may be easily identifiedand raised by suitable apparatus to be herein described.

The vessel will be equipped with one or more (in the present instancethree) wind-, ing-drums 1, suitably supported in the vessel 2. On eachwinding-drum will be a cable 3 of sufficient size to withstand thestrain in raising the vessel when power is applied from the wreckingvessel or barge on the surface of the water. Secured to the deck of thevessel and projecting into the interior of the vessel is a receptacle 4,having at its lower end a contracted portion of less diameter than themain portion of the receptacle. This contracted portion of thereceptacle is adapted to form a housing for a link 6 and hold it in asubstantially vertical position, the lower end of said link havingconnected thereto one end of the cable 3, which extends through anopening in the bottom of the contracted portion of the receptacle, andthe upper end of the link having connected thereto a cable 7, ofcomparatively light material, which may be conveniently coiled upon thebottom of the main portion of the receptacle 4, as shown in Fig. 2.Seated upon the upper edge and extending within the receptacle 4 is afloatS,

which is preferably connected to the lighter cate the submerged vessel,and by taking in the float 8 the heavier cable 3 maybe payed from thereel 1, and after the cable 3 has been unwound from the reel 1 said reelwill form an anchor, .so that by using suitable means on the salvage orwrecking vessel the submerged vessel may be raised.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

A vessel having a reel mounted therein and provided with a deck, areceptacle mounted in said deck having its upper end open to provide aseat for a float, and having its lower end contracted to form a housingof less diameter than the main portion of the receptacle, a relativelylight line connected to said float and normally lying in the mainportion of said receptacle, the other end of said line7 5 having a linkfastened thereto which stands in a substantially vertical position inthe housing at the lower end of the receptacle, and a cable wound uponsaid reel and extending through an opening in the bottom of thecontracted portion of said receptacle and being connected to the lowerend ofsaid link; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature, in the presence oftwo witnesses,

this 24th day of July, 1905.

WILLIAM G. CAIN. Witnesses:

W. E.-ADDISON, J. A. BRUCE.

The sal- 55

